Alfredsson helps Senators rout Canadiens 5-1

OTTAWA
- Daniel Alfredsson scored his first goal of the season and the Ottawa Senators beat the Montreal Canadiens 5-1 on Wednesday night.

Jim O'Brien, Mika Zibanejad, Chris Phillips and Chris Neil also scored for the Senators, and Craig Anderson had 31 saves in his 300th career game.

Tomas Plekanec scored for Montreal, which had won four straight. Peter Budaj made 22 stops in his season debut.

Down 4-1 in the third, the Canadiens made a desperate push to get back in the game, but Anderson made numerous point-blank saves, including two on Brandon Prust.

Neil made it 5-1 with a wraparound goal with just over five minutes left.

Ottawa grabbed control with a three-goal outburst in the second period.

The Senators had a four-minute man advantage after Ryan White took a roughing penalty and was given an extra two minutes for arguing the call.

Alfredsson put Ottawa in front 2-1 when he scored off a faceoff, and Zibanejad beat Budaj high stick side for his first NHL goal just over two minutes later. Zibanejad blew a kiss to the sky as part of his goal celebration.

Phillips then got his second goal of the season. Zack Smith grabbed a bouncing puck and left it for Phillips, who jumped into the play and fired a wrist shot past Budaj.

The second period was much different than the first, which featured two fights and eight minor penalties that left both teams struggling to create any momentum.

The Canadiens took advantage of an early power play, with Plekanec jumping on a rebound and sliding it past Anderson. The Canadiens were 1 for 5 with the man advantage.

O'Brien tied it at the eight-minute mark with his second in as many nights. Budaj took a shot off the helmet, which appeared to stun him for a moment, and O'Brien jumped on the rebound.

The Senators' injury list continued to grow. Sergei Gonchar was a late scratch after being sidelined with what was described as a lower body injury. Ottawa was also without Jason Spezza, who missed his second straight game with what is believed to be a back injury.

NOTES: D P.K. Subban joined Montreal for the first time since signing a two-year, $5.75 million contract, but was not in the lineup for the game against the Senators. "I felt great today. I'm going to continue to practice and get ready," Subban said. "As of right now, there's no timeframe to when I'll be returning. I don't know. It's not my decision." ... LW Kaspars Daugavins was a healthy scratch for the Senators. ... The Canadiens were without Petteri Nokelainen (back, out indefinitely) and Max Pacioretty (appendectomy, three to four weeks).